For those of you who responded to my car emergency kit posting, I am basically done gathering my toys-- urh, I mean emergency tools-- except for a few things here and there. One of the things I'm thinking about adding is a help sign, and so I approach the Forum again in search of advice.

• Do I need a help sign if I already have road flares and flashing lights? (I think I do, because if I'm driving, I would interpret flashing lights as "caution!" rather than "I need your help!")
• What is a good source for a good sign? I found http://www.highwayhelp.org/sign.html, which seems to be a good idea. It hangs outside the car window (won't be obscured by snow or rain); it juts out vertically for better visibility; it is reflective. It may just be hard to purchase, and it says "call police" rather than "help."

Thanks!


Da Bing

P.S. Will share pictures as soon as I have the kit ready. Who says emergency preparedness is not fun?

Perhaps you could spell out "H E L P ! " on the flip-side with black tape.

A few months ago I was at REI and they had a little kit on sale for $5 that included a large blaze orange "HELP" sign (would cover a good bit of my car roof) and I bought a couple. Some blaze orange items are a good idea anyway and I figured the HELP signs were worth the minimal space -- especially in winter where a blizzard could cover your car up.

Unfortunately, I can't remember the brand and tossed the packaging. Haven't been able to find it online to post the link.

You know, I wouldn't automatically interpret that little telephone with the word "police" on it to mean "please call the police." Not having seen that sign befoe, I might think that the police had tagged that car or something like that.

Just my $0.02 worth (uh, possibly worth less than that).

HJ

Given the general level of training, equipment, and expected ability to deal with dangerous situations, I think that "call police" might indeed be better than "help". I hate to be negative, and I doubt predators are likely to be deterred by any specific wording, but between helpful idiots and people who may seek to take advantage, I would be more confident with police arriving than a random bystander.

One like this?

[img:center]http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/safetycentral_2139_277562509[/img]

located @ Safety Central

No affiliation, etc., etc.

That's a good point. I would think a bad guy (or gal, to be PC ) would hesitate to do anything to a car with a "Call Police: sign due to the risk that the police may already be on their way.

-Blast

I think "Call Police" is the best choice. There aren't many people who would pass that sign and not call it in. You're not asking much of them, really. Clear, direct, and clean from the point of view of the passer-by.

"Help" is too vague (okay, it's not really, but we live in crazy times). I think many would interpret it as "stop and help me," which has a lot more risk/hassle/ick factors, including lawyers and axe murderers. Not the calculation you want going on in the heads of your potential rescuers.

This is the era of the cell phone. Why would you ask a passerby to do that which you can do easier and better yourself? I am assuming you are in a coverage area, which is actually pretty likely if you are on a major highway. If you are in an isolated area, a drive by is more likely to spontaneously inquire if you need assistance without any sign being displayed.

My experience has been that getting outside assistance has not been a significant problem. I, for one, regularly stop, or, at least, slow down, survey the situation, and make eye contact and/or inquiries.

I'm recalling a minor incident once. Was riding my bike to the store and noticed a car pulling over to the side of a busy highway just before an intersection. The driver didn't appear concerned and nothing seemed to be wrong, so I continued on my way. Coming home a couple hours later the car was still there, the driver was a young woman who now had a coat on. I rode up and asked her if she needed help. "YES!" she says, "All these people are driving by and no one is helping me and I don't know how they could just keep driving by..."

I let her borrow my cell phone to make a quick call and all was set to rights with a friend on their way to assist. If I recall correctly her phone had stopped working and she was lost and nearly out of gas.

Looking back I wonder if she might have found a sign helpful in that circumstance. Flagging down a car seems to be reserved for emergencies, and as she was a young woman I'm speculating that she may have been afraid that if she didn't appear to have it all together then a bad character might take advantage of the situation. Some sort of way to indicate in a dignified manner that you are requesting assitance just might have its place.

Looking back, I'm remembering she seemed to have had no plan for what to do and was instead rather paralyzed by the situation she found herself in. Afterwards I was perplexed because it was a very busy road, and just down the street were some businesses, and if she had walked towards the businesses within her sight she would have come to the police station where she could have got help. Instead she had sat in her car for at least 2 hours doing nothing except hoping that her cell phone began working again.

The typical way to indicate you have a problem is to pop the hood on your vehicle. From your description, that might have been beyond the ability of this person.

It never hurts to ask, except that one time I walked up to a car and it was only when I was a couple feet away that I saw the sole-up high-heels and the car rocking ... I tiptoed away and try to be more careful.

Cell phones have made a lot of situations easier but assuming that if they were in trouble they would have called for help might make certain situations harder. In one case the father of a friend had a minor stroke, as if any stroke can be really minor, but that's what they said, and he simply forgot where he was, who he was, where he was driving to, and why he wanted to go there. He had a cell phone but, other than a strong feeling something was wrong, didn't think he was in trouble.

So there he sat. In his car. At the side of the road. A couple blocks from his house. What saved him was that a neighbor saw him when she went to the store and then saw him, in the same spot, when she returned five minutes later. She pulled up and asked what was going on. He hadn't the foggiest idea. Being on good terms and having a relative who had a stroke she started to think something was seriously wrong even as he kept saying he was fine.

The EMTs found cooperative but completely unconcerned other than him thinking something, something he couldn't put his finger on, was wrong.

Diabetics can also have situations where they are not mentally capable of telling they are in trouble. In one sad case the driver had pulled off the road and was tasered over a dozen times because the police assumed he was drunk and uncooperative. Only after he had been tasered, beat, hogtied and collapsed in the drunk tank did they call the EMTs. Who started to suspect he wasn't drunk because he didn't smell of alcohol. On examination they found the Medi-alert pendant around his neck and started appropriate treatment. Word is he had no retirement plan before the incident. After the settlement it is well funded. Makes me wonder if calling the police is any better than just taking your chances. I keep telling myself that the vast majority of police are conscientious and trying to do the right thing. Even if a few fall well short of the mark.

Outside my divergence the larger point is that some people who need help, ever more people as the population ages, may not be able to use a cell phone or erect a flag. Walking up on a couple at maximum engagement might get you a thrashing, or shot, but everyone has to make an effort to look out for people who may need help, even if they don't realize it.

Just because you may be travelling on a major highway does not imply cell coverage. Up here, on many major highways, there are some stretches of 60-100 miles that don't have cell coverage.

A good resource I now use when travelling is Open Signal Maps. This website interfaces with Google Maps and allow you to search for cell towers near where you may be. (When searching, zoom in on the map to see more tower locations) Although not complete, I have been able to find cell towers in areas that I would not of known and can possibly make a difference when the chips are stacked against you.

That said and as you have mentioned in another post popping the hood open (and turning on the 4 way flashers) around here will almost always guarantee that someone will cautiously slow down and ask if you require help.

That was my next question: where can I get a sign that says "if the car is a-rockin', don't come a-knockin'?" We have to be prepared for all manners of emergencies, and those condoms can be used for more than carrying water.

As for the other sort of emergency, it did not occur to me that popping the hood could serve as a signal for trouble. On the other hand, an explicit signal ("call police" or "help") might provide a much needed push to passing drivers.

On another note, I wonder whether the possibility of an opportunistic robber/rapist/murdered might be better addressed by a different sort of kit. You are perhaps no less likely to encounter trouble if you're lost in a sketchy part of town. These are similar situations, and perhaps could use the same response.

Thanks for the input! I've asked the "call police" sign company how to purchase their product, and if I hear from them, I'll let you know!


Da Bing

Does anyone not have one of those sunshades from the 90's?

Local custom and culture may be an important factor as well. Here in SoCal, proper behavior is to keep right on trucking (slowing down will most likely result in a traffic jam) so you had better have your cell phone working. On the major arteries, road side assistance phones are installed at quarter mile intervals

On the other hand, in South Dakota, where I spend most of my summers, we had a minor breakdown right in town and within the space of no more than ten minutes, three strangers approached us to offer assistance without us doing anything to solicit aid, other than to look underneath the vehicle to see what in the blazes was wrong with our clutch linkage.

Folks in a rural setting are more inclined to offer assistance.

While Expensive,A Very Good option is The On-Star Alert System,Sattelite GPS system Operated,& Works Virtually Anywhere,Could be a Very Helpful Investment for a Concerned Loved one,ie..84 yr.old Stranded in Desert,etc.